Pleonexes kaneohe (J. L. Barnard 1970)

Ampithoe kaneohe

DIAGNOSIS OF MALE.—All pleonal epimera posteroventrally rounded; article 6 of gnathopod 1 longer than article 5, posterior margin of article 5 moderately broad but with weak, broadly coniform lobe, article 6 ovatorectangular, of medium stoutness, palm very oblique and defined by stout spine; gnathopod 2 with elongate, tapering article 6, palm and posterior margin congruent, undefined, minutely crenulate, sparsely setose, medioterminal face of article 6 bearing large brush of long, apically turned, stiff setae, article 5 short and bearing strong, slender posterior lobe, article 7 half as long as article 6, distal lobe of article 2 very large; article 2 of pereopods 1–2 more than twice as long as broad; pereopods 3–5 with subprehensile sixth articles, each bearing palm closely guarded by a striate curved spine, 2 other striate spines at palmar corner and 1 small spine near dactylar hinge, dactyls partially striate on pereopods 3–5; antennae 1–2 long and extending equally, antenna 2 peduncle especially long, flagellum scarcely as long as article 5, slender, weakly setose; lateral apical lobule of lower lip much longer than medial and bearing apical nipple; coxa 1 produced forward; peduncular process of uropod 1 short, peduncle with sparse row of ventrolateral setae; eyes very small, clear or with slight posterior dark pigment in alcohol.



FEMALE.—Gnathopods like those of male gnathopod 1, but article 5 lobe of gnathopod 1 truncate, that of gnathopod 2 sharp; antennae shorter than in male, articles 4–5 of antenna 2 shorter and flagellum as long as articles 4–5 together.

HOLOTYPE.—Bishop Museum collections, catalog number 7254, male, 5.4 mm.

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Off Waikiki Marine Laboratory, 11 March 1964, from Ulna, shallow water (4 specimens).

MATERIAL.—Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 29 February 1964, from Acanthophora, depth unknown. Fee 1 (24). JLB Hawaii 12 (4), 13 (6), 15 (2).

RELATIONSHIP.—The subprehensile pereopods 3–5 give this species the aspect of a Pleonexes, but diat subgenus should be restricted for those few species also having large cornified lobes or wings on the telson. See Ampithoe (Pleonexes) poipu below. Ampithoe should include that taxon described by Barnard (1965b) as Pleonexes species from Micronesia, which I designate now as Ampithoe kulafi, new species. It and Ampithoe kaneohe appear to be a closely related pair in terms of subprehensile pereopods, lower lip, gnathopod 1, and uropod 1, but A. kulafi (anagram of Ifaluk, its type-locality) has a very different male gnathopod 2, with subcircular article 6 bearing a transverse palm. Ampithoe kaneohe is the only known species of the genus with male gnathopod 2 having the palm and posterior margin of the hand congruent and that abo has a nonrectangular gnathopod 1 with oblique palm. Thus, it differs from Ampithoe orientalis Dana of the Hawaiian Islands in that character plus the subprehensile pereopods 3–5.

DISTRIBUTION.—Hawaiian Islands.